Irish journal of medical science
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Obesity is one of the most common clinical conditions in the pediatric population with an increasing prevalence ranging from 20 to 30% worldwide. It is well known that during ambulatory anesthesia, obese children are more prone to develop perioperative respiratory adverse events (PRAEs) associated with obesity. To avoid or at least minimize these adverse effects, a thorough preoperative assessment should be undertaken as well as consideration of specific anesthetic approaches such as preoxygenation before induction of anesthesia and optimizing drug dosing. ⋯ Noninvasive airway management, protective mechanical ventilation, and complete reversion of neuromuscular blockade and awake extubation also proved to be beneficial in preventing PRAEs. During the postoperative period, continuous monitoring of oxygenation and ventilation is mandatory in obese children. In the current review, we sought to provide recommendations that might help to reduce the severity of perioperative respiratory adverse events in obese children, which could be of particular importance for reducing the rate of unplanned hospitalizations and ultimately improving the overall postoperative recovery.
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To determine if alcohol consumption is a risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and nocturnal oxygen desaturation. ⋯ In this study, we found that alcohol consumption was an independent risk factor of OSA and OSA with hypoxia, and alcohol consumption was related to AHI significantly after adjustment, especially in female. In order to reduce the risk and severity of OSA, it is suggested that people should avoid drinking, and drinkers should abstain from drinking.
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Serological SARS-CoV-2 assays have an important role in guiding the pandemic response. This research aimed to compare the performance of 2 antinucleocapsid assays. ⋯ In this small study, the Roche Diagnostics Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 total antibody assay appears superior in performance to the Abbott diagnostics SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay in accurately detecting participants with a history of confirmed COVID-19 disease at 6 months follow-up. This finding should be born in mind in the planning of future seroprevalence studies, especially when considering the use of anti-nucleocapsid assays.
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Observational Study
A cross-section observational study on the seroprevalence of antibodies to COVID-19 in patients receiving opiate agonist treatment.
The HSE National Drug Treatment Centre is an inner city drug treatment centre in Dublin which provides opiate agonist treatment (OAT) to approximately 565 patients, many of whom have complex care needs. ⋯ These findings indicate (a) possible low level of exposure to COVID-19 among this patient cohort or (b) that those patients who have been exposed have not developed or maintained detectable antibody levels, nor developed symptoms of the disease. Public health measures could explain the low level of COVID-19 in this cohort. The findings are also consistent with the possibility of a protective effect of OAT medications on development of the disease.